3,256 research outputs found
Chiral photoelectron angular distributions from ionization of achiral atomic and molecular species
We show that the combination of two achiral components - atomic or molecular
target plus a circularly polarized photon - can yield chirally structured
photoelectron angular distributions. For photoionization of CO, the angular
distribution of carbon K-shell photoelectrons is chiral when the molecular axis
is neither perpendicular nor (anti-)parallel to the light propagation axis. In
photo-double-ionization of He, the distribution of one electron is chiral, if
the other electron is oriented like the molecular axis in the former case and
if the electrons are distinguishable by their energy. In both scenarios, the
circularly polarized photon defines a plane with a sense of rotation and an
additional axis is defined by the CO molecule or one electron. This is
sufficient to establish an unambiguous coordinate frame of well-defined
handedness. To produce a chirally structured electron angular distribution,
such a coordinate frame is necessary, but not sufficient. We show that
additional electron-electron interaction or scattering processes are needed to
create the chiral angular distribution
Synchronous and asynchronous theta and gamma activity during episodic memory formation.
To test the hypothesis that neural oscillations synchronize to mediate memory encoding, we analyzed electrocorticographic recordings taken as 68 human neurosurgical patients studied and subsequently recalled lists of common words. To the extent that changes in spectral power reflect synchronous oscillations, we would expect those power changes to be accompanied by increases in phase synchrony between the region of interest and neighboring brain areas. Contrary to the hypothesized role of synchronous gamma oscillations in memory formation, we found that many key regions that showed power increases during successful memory encoding also exhibited decreases in global synchrony. Similarly, cortical theta activity that decreases during memory encoding exhibits both increased and decreased global synchrony depending on region and stage of encoding. We suggest that network synchrony analyses, as used here, can help to distinguish between two major types of spectral modulations: (1) those that reflect synchronous engagement of regional neurons with neighboring brain areas, and (2) those that reflect either asynchronous modulations of neural activity or local synchrony accompanied by global disengagement from neighboring regions. We show that these two kinds of spectral modulations have distinct spatiotemporal profiles during memory encoding
An Emerging Class of Bright, Fast-evolving Supernovae with Low-mass Ejecta
A recent analysis of supernova (SN) 2002bj revealed that it was an apparently
unique type Ib SN. It showed a high peak luminosity, with absolute magnitude
M_R -18.5, but an extremely fast-evolving light curve. It had a rise time of <7
days followed by a decline of 0.25 mag per day in B-band, and showed evidence
for very low mass of ejecta (<0.15 M_Sun). Here we discuss two additional
historical events, SN 1885A and SN 1939B, showing similarly fast light curves
and low ejected masses. We discuss the low mass of ejecta inferred from our
analysis of the SN 1885A remnant in M31, and present for the first time the
spectrum of SN 1939B. The old environments of both SN 1885A (in the bulge of
M31) and SN 1939B (in an elliptical galaxy with no traces of star formation
activity), strongly support old white dwarf progenitors for these SNe. We find
no clear evidence for helium in the spectrum of SN 1939B, as might be expected
from a helium-shell detonation on a white dwarf, suggested to be the origin of
SN 2002bj. Finally, the discovery of all the observed fast-evolving SNe in
nearby galaxies suggests that the rate of these peculiar SNe is at least 1-2 %
of all SNe.Comment: Additional analysis included. ApJ, in pres
PMN J1838-3427: A new gravitationally lensed quasar
We report the discovery of a new double-image quasar that was found during a
search for gravitational lenses in the southern sky. Radio source PMN
J1838-3427 is composed of two flat-spectrum components with separation 1", flux
density ratio 14:1 and matching spectral indices, in VLA and VLBA images.
Ground-based BRI images show the optical counterpart (total I=18.6) is also
double with the same separation and position angle as the radio components. An
HST/WFPC2 image reveals the lens galaxy. The optical flux ratio (27:1) is
higher than the radio value probably due to differential extinction of the
components by the lens galaxy. An optical spectrum of the bright component
contains quasar emission lines at z=2.78 and several absorption features,
including prominent Ly-alpha absorption. The lens galaxy redshift could not be
measured but is estimated to be z=0.36 +/- 0.08. The image configuration is
consistent with the simplest plausible models for the lens potential. The flat
radio spectrum and observed variability of PMN J1838-3427 suggest the time
delay between flux variations of the components is measurable, and could thus
provide an independent measurement of H_0.Comment: 23 pages, incl. 6 figures, to appear in A.J.; replaced with accepted
version; minor changes to text, improved figure
Performance of Lipoarabinomannan Assay using Cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis of Tuberculous meningitis among HIV patients.
Background: The diagnostic utility of the Mycobacteria tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan (TB-LAM) antigen lateral flow assay on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) has not been extensively studied and the few published studies have conflicting results. Methods: Lumbar CSF from 59 HIV-positive patients with suspected TBM was tested with TB-LAM and Xpert MTB/Rif Ultra. The diagnostic performance of CSF TB-LAM was compared to positive CSF Xpert MTB/Rif Ultra (definite TBM) and a composite reference of probable or definite TBM according to the uniform case definition. Results: Of 59 subjects, 12 (20%) had definite TBM and five (9%) had probable TBM. With reference to definite TBM, CSF TB-LAM assay had a diagnostic sensitivity of 33% and specificity of 96%. When compared to a composite reference of definite or probable TBM, the sensitivity was 24% and specificity was 95%. There were two false positive tests with TB-LAM (3+ grade). In-hospital mortality in CSF TB-LAM positive patients was 17% compared to 0% in those with definite TBM by Xpert MTB/Rif Ultra but negative LAM. Conclusions: Lumbar CSF TB-LAM has a poor performance in diagnosing TBM. Both urine TB-LAM and Xpert Ultra should be further investigated in the diagnosis of TBM
The Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) Pilot Survey
We describe a pilot survey conducted with the Mopra 22-m radio telescope in
preparation for the Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team Survey at 90 GHz (MALT90).
We identified 182 candidate dense molecular clumps using six different
selection criteria and mapped each source simultaneously in 16 different lines
near 90 GHz. We present a summary of the data and describe how the results of
the pilot survey shaped the design of the larger MALT90 survey. We motivate our
selection of target sources for the main survey based on the pilot detection
rates and demonstrate the value of mapping in multiple lines simultaneously at
high spectral resolution.Comment: Accepted to ApJS. 23 pages and 16 figures. Full resolution version
with an appendix showing all the data (12.1 MB) is available at
http://malt90.bu.edu/publications/Foster_2011_Malt90Pilot.pd
Galaxy-Quasar correlations between APM galaxies and Hamburg-ESO QSOs
We detect angular galaxy-QSO cross-correlations between the APM Galaxy
Catalogue and a preliminary release (consisting of roughly half of the
anticipated final catalogue) of the Hamburg-ESO Catalogue of Bright QSOs as a
function of source QSO redshift using multiple cross-correlation estimators.
Each of the estimators yield very similar results, implying that the APM
catalogue and the Hamburg-ESO survey are both fair samples of the respective
true galaxy and QSO populations. Though the signal matches the expectations of
gravitational lensing qualitatively, the strength of the measured
cross-correlation signal is significantly greater than the CDM models of
lensing by large scale structure would suggest. This same disagreement between
models and observation has been found in several earlier studies. We estimate
our confidence in the correlation detections versus redshift by generating 1000
random realizations of the Hamburg-ESO QSO survey: We detect physical
associations between galaxies and low-redshift QSOs at 99% confidence and
detect lensing associations at roughly 95% confidence for QSOs with redshifts
between 0.6 and 1. Control cross-correlations between Galactic stars and QSOs
show no signal. Finally, the overdensities (underdensities) of galaxies near
QSO positions relative to those lying roughly 135 - 150 arcmin away are
uncorrelated with differences in Galactic extinction between the two regions,
implying that Galactic dust is not significantly affecting the QSO sample.Comment: 35 pages total, including 9 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical
Journa
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